Quick Tidbit

I am waiting for the carpet people to come at some point today...don't know when so it could be a long day. But thought that I would share the latest exciting news I discovered on Friday....the Nashville West Old Navy is open and they have maternity clothes. No more having to go to Opry Mills to shop for cheap maternity clothes. Of course I don't need any as my sister who was pregnant for two years straight with a short 3 month break in the middle brought me two massive tubs of clothes and I have my old ones which I realized really aren't cute anymore or maybe they never were and I'm just now realizing it. For now you will just see me in my normal jeans that still fit for some crazy reason so I'm wearing them until I can't. I'll post some pictures sometime this week of our new upstairs!!!!!!! I should be sleeping up there tonight as long as all goes well.

My Favorite Color is Yellow...Yea!!!

That is a normal saying out of Parkes' mouth these days. And these are his only yellow pjs we have for him compliments of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital when he had his hernia surgery a year ago and as you can tell they are getting close to not fitting. I have to wash them on a regular basis as they are the only pair he wants to wear. He talks about favorite colors all day long going through mommy, daddy and parkes' favorites then going on to ask me what other friends and family members favorite colors are....he knows Uncle Brian, Matt and Keri's favorite colors so they are spoken a lot as well. And we have also now moved on into letters as well, and he likes to announce that his favorite letter is "P" for his name.

We had our monthly doctor's appt today to hear the baby's heartbeat. Parkes was so excited to go with me, and he behaved very well. He announced last night pointing to the ultra sound picture that "that's my baby sister." So we will see. The heartbeat was 145 which is right about in the middle for those guessing. I did wonder at the beginning of my pregnancy how much Parkes really understood about it and that a baby was in there, but I'm starting to believe he really is starting to get the idea now that my belly is growing of course just to the level of a almost three year old.

And finally, sorry it has been awhile since I have posted (for my many many readers out there), we are in the process of having to get everything for the most part wrapped up on our home renovation/remodel (or at least this stage of it) before an appraisal and all has to be completed by next friday. So if you wonder where we have been or where we will be for the next week or so that is it. And if you do see us and we seem in a daze and not really up for communicating that is what is wrong with us. Poor Brandon who has worked amazingly on the house is about exhausted from waking up at 6 to go to work to only come home and go to work upstairs until 10:30 or 11, but at least there is an end in sight. And the joys of an older home which we do so love he doesn't always love right now when he is trying to get things to line up and floors not to slop.

School Picture

Our little boy had his first school picture last week and I got the proof today and it is the most adorable picture (of course I am his mom so I'm a little biased, but even his teachers said how his was the cutest...I think it's the hair and I'm sure they told every mom that) so I thought I would share it with y'all. He still loves school and adores his teachers. He is such a social child that it is so funny to watch him interact with the other kids. I get a glimpse of what he is like in school because this year he is in my mom's and my class on the Tuesday morning Bible study we do and he has found himself a little friend in that class that they run around together talking to each other nonstop and playing games constantly. Hopefully she will have better luck then I am at getting him potty trained because she likes to tell him about how she used the potty and that he should to. Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!!!

Bad Week and It's Only Thursday

Well I started out this week on Monday shocking myself on a plug and getting to go into the hospital to get hooked up to a fetal monitor for a couple of hours, but luckily everything was okay and I had some small cramps probably due to dehydration, I learned the aderaline of the shock dehydrates you, but no contractions or anything and baby was moving and strong. So if that wasn't enough for one week last night after getting Parkes to bed Brandon calls me upstairs to help him move a door over and sure enough that same plug (which is the only one out of the wall as the electrician got the rest in but for some reason this one has stayed sticking out just enough from the wall to get me) got my leg as I walked by it. I don't think it actually shocked me this time, but did feel warm so called the doctor again who proceeds to ask me if my house was safe to live in, but I didn't have to go into the hospital this time as I had no contractions and the baby was kicking like crazy (probably mad at me). So needless to say I have been banned from going upstairs by Brandon and my doctor until it is completed, and first thing Brandon is doing when he gets home tonight is fixing that plug. So just say a little prayer for this baby that I can stay accident free for the next 15 to 17 weeks. And we should hopefully actually be moving our bedroom upstairs in October as carpet is scheduled for a week from Monday so I will post pictures of it soon...it looks so good now that there is drywall and paint on the walls. Oh and to keep everyone in the loop with our baby names I think we are actually leaning towards Bryant Edwards now for a boy (and yes I know it came from Bear Bryant, but I do like the name on it's own and I got the name Sage from my soap so I figured I couldn't say no to something from Brandon's favorite sports team).

High School Football

We took Parkes down to see his Happy and Memaw (he did call Brandon's dad what we thought was Pappy but we have now noticed he is actually calling him Happy like our neighbor's name) and we stayed to watch Brandon's high school's homecoming football game (I know they have it really early). Parkes was very taken with the cheerleaders and thought that they were singing to him as he said. Brandon and I then left him with them so we could come back saturday and go to the Ole Miss/Vandy with Matt and Keri which sadly Ole Miss did not win as they did not seem to be able to tackle anyone, but did have a terrific fake punt. But it was fun to get to yell out a few Hotty Toddys even though we were in the Vandy section with were our season tickets are (the people around us are very confused by us as for the past two weeks the four of us have showed up in the colors of the other teams too bad we won't be able to make it to the Georgia game wearing Keri's teams colors and that they aren't playing Florida there this year and wear Matt's teams colors because then they would really think we were crazy). Then with just 5 mins left in the game Brandon saw the Alabama/Arkansas score and got really stressed out, but luckily we found a tent right outside the stadium after the game where he was able to watch the exciting last 6 mins of that game and Alabama win so he was in a good mood for the rest of the night. We went and got Parkes Sunday night and got to hear all about his fun night at the fair were he rode every ride he could with his Aunt Brittany who he adores. And lucky for me he slept in until 8 this morning from his long, exciting weekend!!! Maybe here soon I will have a post that doesn't involve football, but with a football fanatic husband it pretty much consumes our fall which I don't complain much except for too many NFL games I could do with only watching the Titans and Giants.

Day out wth Thomas

This Sunday we went with our neighbors and their three boys to ride on Thomas the Train. It was raining pretty hard when we woke up but luckily let up for when we got down there. Parkes had a great time on the train and playing around afterwards. Here's some pictures from the day.

Our Polite Little Man

Just a quick post about how sweet Parkes was last night at dinner. He really doesn't ever eat much dinner anymore unless it's cheese and crackers so last night he was excited that with the mexican lasagna we had cheese dip and chips which he moved the bowl of cheese dip onto his plate and used his spoon to eat it. But then when he finished he proceeds to look at me and say "thankthank for dinner mommy. 'cuse me please." What a sweet boy...I have tried really hard to push all the manners so they just become second nature for him, but it still usually takes me asking him to say it so it was a nice surprise for him to do it on his own.Then he went and got Daisy's food from the kitchen and took it to her in the den and feed her piece by piece. Daisy has really come around on her feelings towards Parkes as she has realized he is her ticket to getting all kinds of food.

Where Parkes likes to sleep now...

Last night we put Parkes to bed with his cars and books so he could play a little before he falls asleep...it usually takes him about an hour after we lay him down so he takes some toys with him. Well when we went in there to check on him before we went to bed this is where we found him. He had moved all of his pillows and blankets to the floor and fallen asleep there on the hardwood floor. Parkes has also developed quite the imagination lately. He is always making up stuff whether it is to hide under the butcher block and tell me he's in the doghouse or to hand me some imaginary object that I am to juggle. And in the last month he has finally started to sing for us. Parkes refused to participate in any type of singing activity for the first two and a half years of his life whether it was at church or with just me, but he has finally decided to start singing and serenades us all the time now with "Jesus Loves Me". He, however, from riding in the car with Daddy prefers to sing a heavy metal version that he sings while headbanging or playing the air guitar.

Brandon and the Smoker

If you have talked to Brandon in the last 6 months he has probably mentioned the smoker he is building. Well here it is, not quite done but enough that he could use it this weekend (the doors will be replaced with some custom made doors that will look a lot nicer). So just as a little background, Brandon has never used a smoker before in his life nor does he know anything about smoking food, but still decides to build a smoker large enough to smoke a whole pig with the brick from what used to be the chimney on our house (he cannot waste anything). So Friday night he decides that he will build a fire in there to get the walls built up with a little smoke before he actually smokes briskets on Saturday. I walk out there after he had been out there for about 30 minutes to check what was going on and there was smoke covering our whole back yard and the neighbors. So after me convincing him that maybe something is not right, i told him that he had to put out the fire before the firetrucks showed up, go apologize to the neighbors and promise me he would never use it again. Well luckily our neighbor knew a little more then Brandon about using a smoker and gave him some very helpful tips and he was able to use it without all the smoke and cooked up some wonderful brisket and ribs for us to enjoy with friends on Saturday. I wish I had pulled out the camera Saturday night and captured Parkes, Jay and Abby James running around playing because they were having a great time. And yes the background of those pictures is what half of our backyard looks like right now (I did have Brandon fence in an area that was kid friendly so Parkes and I can go outside) as we attempt to consoldate Brandon's shed, refence in the backyard with the added space from removing all the shrubs, and of course all the things Brandon just can't throw away because one day he might just need them.

Parkes and Football

Well I was so excited about football that I forgot to even say anything about Parkes (the reason y'all even check this blog)....he too is very excited about football season. And much prefers to yell out "Hotty Toddy" over "Roll Tide" which Brandon is starting to get really mad about and keeps telling me very seriously, "Katie, this isn't funny football season is here." Parkes has been practicing his kicking and throwing. And he cheers on the teams although not always the right team playing as he was yelling at the TV last night in the LSU game "Go Eli!" (the last game he watched with us the Giants were playing).

College Football has Started!!!

Well NFL Preseason has been on for a few weeks, but I much prefer to watch SEC football so I was very excited last night for the opening game of LSU vs. Miss St. and very happy to see LSU win (sorry Jim and Brad). Being an Ole Miss girl I love nothing more then the beginning of Football Season. Of course the Grove is the best place in the world to tailgate (even Brandon, the diehard Alabama fan, will admit that you can't beat the Grove), but we are going to attempt Vandy this year. We bought season tickets with both Alabama and Ole Miss playing there this year. So anyone that will be at those games let us know and we can all tailgate together. But we are going to start out this weekend with trying out Brandon's new massive smoker he built (we had to change cable providers this year as well so Brandon will be able to get all the alabama games which works to my advantage as Ole Miss doesn't often make it to TV).

Holt or Sage?

Well, this is the best picture we got of the ultra sound. The baby is healthy and right where he/she should be in all of it's measurements. It is, however, very stubborn and only wanted to show it's back. In fact, the ultra sound technician almost didn't even get to see if it was a boy or girl, but it finally showed her....and for those wondering the sex is only now documented as "normal" so there is no way of finding it out now. But since we will not be revealing the sex of the baby I thought I would share the names (they still could change, but we think these are the ones we are going with). For a girl...Riley Sage Waymire and for a boy...Holt Edwards Waymire. And for those that would like to join the guessing here's a few of the old wives tales for your enjoyment. The baby's heartbeat was 152 and the tale is above 140 girl (however, Parkes was above 140 as well and fooled all the doctors and nurses). I'm carrying higher then I did with Parkes which the tale says would be a girl. I did have morning sickness this time around which I did not with Parkes...again the tale says girl. I did actually eat a bite of chocolate the other day which for those that know me well know I do not like chocolate, I didn't like it after I had eaten it though...the tale says sweet cravings are girl. And finally the Chinese Birth Calendar says girl. So we will just have to wait until early January to find out.

Our little Fish

Finally, here's some pictures of Parkes at his swim lessons. He is able to keep himself afloat on his stomach now by himself, but he likes to swim with his head out of the water which causes his legs to sink and therefore he does. His swim teacher, Kelsey, got him some goggles so he could search the bottom of the pool to help him keep his head in the water, and said to go ahead and let him try on his own so he realizes that he has to keep kicking or he'll sink. My brother, Jim, was swimming and going off the diving boards on his own by the time he was three so I think Parkes is taking after him in his swimming. So, hopefully, by the time we go to the beach in October he will be swimming for the most part on his own...since we have a pool at the house we are renting I was a little worried about him jumping in whenever he felt like it and me with a big ole belly jumping in after him.

First Day of School

Well today Brandon and I sent Parkes off for his first day of school. We went last night to meet his teachers and fill his cubby with all his stuff he'll need for naptime. He is in the Tweens class (older twos and young threes) with eleven other kids. He will be very excited when he finds out that on wednesdays they have a cooking time where they help prepare their snacks...Parkes loves to cook and always runs straight to the play kitchen when there is one. He was so excited and could hardly even tell us goodbye because he wanted to sit down and color with the other kids. We did manage to make him pose for a few pictures. So I am off to see what all I can get accomplished on my first day alone....although the pool is sure sounding good right now, it's been awhile since I've been able to relax and not chase a 2 year old around.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend we took Parkes to his grandparents and Brandon and I headed to Bardstown, KY with our good friends Matt, Keri, Nathan and Meridy. It was Brandon's father's day present from me for a weekend away from all the work on the house. So we headed up there early Saturday morning with a few bumps in the road (Keri's purse contents falling in the McDonald's bathroom toliet when the shelf above the toliet gave out) but all ready for a fun weekend and we had a great time with lots of entertainment thanks to the guys and the locals of Bardstown. For those that have never heard of the town it is a very small, very old and historic town just south of Louisville. We took a trolley after lunch to see all the historic sights with a trolley driver that was lacking in the comedy department but sure tried hard. We got done with that just in time to drive out to tour Jim Beam's family home which sits on a beautiful hillside and walk around downtown area where the boys entertained us with a little middle school game of "i bet i can jump further off of this then you" which I did have to get my mommy voice out when Brandon decided he would attempt to put his feet in the hand shackles outside the Jailers Inn and was about to land on his head. Then we headed back to our bed and breakfast which was built in the 1700's and was suppose to be haunted and had a very nice dinner....that's when the fun started. We had heard when we made the reservations that our b&b had live music on friday and saturday, but little did we know that it was the place for all of Bardstown to come for their nightly entertainment. As Keri, Meridy and I entered we got some looks from some local girls as if they were letting us know that this was their hangout and not to think about talking to their men. We sat down and the boys joined us and for the rest of the night we sat just watching what was going on around us. It was like we had never seen with all the girls in love with the lead singer who thought he was just the coolest thing and sadly to say it was as if he was the celebrity of the town. And the dancing can only be described as dirty dancing to the extreme...we felt as if we had entered a different world. We stayed for a good while and then left to go up to the balcony by our rooms to laugh at what we had seen. The next morning Brandon and I took a tour of a beautiful church after breakfast with some artwork from the 1800s. Then we all checked out and piled in the minivan to head to Loretto, KY home of Makers Mark. It did not open until 1 but we thought there might be something to do in Loretto but we were extremely wrong as it was one of the smallest towns I have ever seen so we head over to Makers Mark which had a chain blocking the drive in because it was only 11:45, but that didn't stop the boys from thinking they could get past it so Matt and Nathan go to work on the locked chain as Brandon waits to pull the van through, and just as they are holding the post that held the chain over the heads out of the ground a very country camoflauge truck pulls up next to us to inform us they don't open until 1. We politely thank him as Matt and Nathan put the post back into the ground and he tells us of the back way to go in so we went and waited for them to open. We toured the grounds and then headed home. All and all it was a very fun weekend and a great getaway with good friends...here are some of the pictures. We are having swim lessons tonight and I plan on taking my camera so I will post some pictures of our little swimmer here soon.

Remembering a Friend

Two years ago we lost a dear friend, Betsy. And although I rarely post more then the normal activities of our days I wanted to take a minute to post a picture and remember all the kindness and laughter she brought to us. We are so thankful that she could of been a part of our lives even if only for a short while, and continues to bring us lots of smiles and happiness in our memories.

Here's a few pictures of what Parkes has been doing on these hot, hot days....stickers all day long. He loves them. We have, also, started taking some private swim lessons in the evenings since the last time we went to the pool Parkes has decided he should swim by himself and takes his wings off to swim underwater to and from the stairs. And jumps in the pool whether I am there to catch him or not. I had trouble finding a second level class for kids under 3 so we lucked out in finding someone who was willing to try to teach him how to swim and at a pool right near us. I will remember to take my camera one of these days and get some pictures.

Titans Training Camp

We took Parkes down to see Titans training camp on Saturday. The real highlight for him was getting to ride the bus to and from our car. We didn't get to stay around long enough to try to get autographs which Brandon really wanted Parkes to have (I think it was more for him) so he's going to take Parkes back one afternoon.

Funny Story

Thought I would share this story that made Brandon and I laugh while Parkes is at VBS. The other day I got a craving for Waffle House (don't ask...I haven't been there since after the first Poison concert Brandon and I went to 6 years ago when we first started dating). Well, Parkes loves it. It is his new favorite restaurant since he can watch them cook. So while we were there this lady that works there starts talking to Parkes and then starts saying how he looks so familiar and she knows she has meet him before...a little strange as Parkes is never without me or Brandon so we know she couldn't know him, but we just nicely nod our heads and smile. Well she continues and then looks at me as if Brandon is not sitting right next to Parkes and they don't look just alike and says "I know his father is a real tall man, right?" Brandon and I try not to laugh as we tell her that Brandon is the dad, and she says oh yeah I guess they look alike.

Anyway, Parkes is having a wonderful time at VBS and cries when he has to leave telling me how he wants to go back to school so I'm going to look to get him into their preschool. I will take some pictures soon to post as I haven't taken many lately, but here's one from awhile back of Parkes petting a donkey.

Parkes is back home

Well after one long, quiet week Parkes is back home. He had a great time visiting his grandparents and Aunt Brittany, but as he told me today he had to come home because he missed mommy and daddy. Then he added that Daisy (our dog who is not too fond of Parkes and who will probably have to go back on doggie prozac before we have the second child) missed him too.

We went today to the Adventure Science Center with some friends, Virginia and Lucy. Although, Parkes was a little too young for most things there and he was afraid of the dinosaurs, he still had a good time climbing around on the ambulance and going down the intestines slide which made some lovely noises. He did, however, talk about the big T-Rex the whole way home as if he had loved it. He will be heading to a VBS the end of this week at a church near our home (the last VBS I tried to get him in we got a call the day before saying he couldn't go unless he was potty trained so I made sure it was okay on this one) so this will be a test to see if i want to try to get him in some kind of school or wait until the next year.

Quiet House

We dropped Parkes off yesterday with his Pappy, Oma and Aunt Brittany for a few days to a week depending on how it goes. He was so excited telling us that Mommy and Daddy needed to stay home and just he would go. He likes to be very independent. He has in the last week decided to sleep on the hardwood floors with just his blanket so hopefully that will help his stay since they are still waiting for US Customs to release their furniture to them. This leaves a very quiet house for me and Brandon which was very clear when we woke up this morning to an alarm instead of the sound of Parkes yelling at his door that he was ready for the gate to come off and for Daddy to make his waffle (Mommy does not make it as good). But this is giving Brandon and I the time to get some progress done on the house (which Brandon did not meet my deadline of sleeping upstairs by the end of my first trimester which is in two days). So today I have been going through boxes to organize them into plastic bins to put in the new attic space and hopefully Brandon will get the rest of the drywall hung so we can start mudding it. We have made a lot of progress in what will be Parkes' room in unloading a lot of the boxes of storage that has been in there by either selling it in a yard sale or on craigslist.com...I have even gotten Brandon to sell some of his beloved Alabama collection which he has always told me would be grounds for a divorce if I ever sold it, and he is still going to go through and sell some of his Alabama pictures and poker table (I told him he could get a fold up table top version) so if anyone is interested let us know. Here's a couple pictures of what will be the master bedroom side of the master suite.